This week we stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Suttons Bay, Michigan. Suttons Bay appears to be a thriving small town on the edge of Grand Traverse Bay. There are numerous wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula and all are within driving distance of Suttons Bay.

Since we had been visiting and tasting wines in the area, at the restaurant we opted not to have wine with dinner. However, I was interested in the wine list. A full page of wines listed approximately 21 wines. Only three of these wines were from Leelanau Peninsula. The other wines were from California, Argentina etc.

With so many good wines produced in Michigan, why does a local restaurant feel the need to represent the whole world? It’s a good idea to have some other wines on the menu but shouldn’t a larger number of Michigan wineries be represented on the wine list? It’s all about agri-tourism. If we wouldn’t have been visiting wineries, we would not have been in Suttons Bay for dinner or to purchase gasoline. Both the restaurant and the gas station benefited because we were visiting wineries.

I like what the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council has done to help make a point about restaurants offering local wines. The Council has made available cards that say, “The meal was fine but would have been better if accompanied by a Michigan wine.”

If you support the drink local movement, then consider printing or writing a similar and friendly card for restaurants in your state that do not have local wines on their wine list.

Note: Wine Trail Traveler has a Facebook page. You can visit  it here: Wine Trail Traveler Facebook Page.

Cheers! Kathy